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Hertta-Maria Amutenja Businessman José Luis Bastos and Emeritus Fishing (Pty) Ltd have denied that any fishing dividends were ever paid to the late founding president, Sam Nujoma, in his personal capacity. Bastos’ lawyer, Richard Metcalfe, said the Sam Nujoma Foundation, not Nujoma himself, holds a 20% share in Emeritus Fishing.  He said the company distributes audited dividends annually to shareholders in line with corporate governance procedures. “The skewered and false article pertaining to fishing dividends allegedly paid to the deceased Founding President is fake and false,” said Metcalfe. He further stated that the Foundation appointed John Nauta as the nominee…

Justicia Shipena The government has paid approximately N$3.1 million in legal fees for its defence in the veterinary cordon fence case, also known as the red line case.  The payments were made to advocates Raymond Heathcote SC, Marius Boonzaaier, and Hermann Steyn. A document dated 16 April 2025, seen by the Windhoek Observer, shows that the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises authorised the payments as part of outstanding civil litigation costs owed to various legal service providers.  The total amount approved for settlement of all civil litigation costs was over N$24 million. Heathcote submitted an invoice of N$1.1 million…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The High Court has ordered the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to return over N$20 million taken from an investment account held by retired Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army general Francois Tete Olenga. The court found that the central bank acted outside its legal authority when it forfeited the funds. Acting High Court judge Johanna Prinsloo delivered the judgment this week, setting aside the decision made in August 2023 by BoN deputy governor Leonie Dunn.  She also declared all related decisions and actions unlawful. Prinsloo ruled that only the Bank of Namibia’s Board or the Governor has the…

Allexer Namundjembo The chief executive officer of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), Nangula Nelulu Uaandja, has welcomed the decision to move the board under the newly restructured Ministry of International Relations and Trade (MIRT).  The announcement was made by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during the Invest in Namibia session in Luanda, Angola, on Tuesday. Speaking in a statement, Uaandja said the NIPDB supports the realignment, describing it as a strategic step to improve coordination between government bodies responsible for investment, trade, and inclusive growth. “The NIPDB welcomes this strategic alignment, which is part of a broader effort to…

Allexer Namundjebo The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises has returned N$21.5 million to the state treasury after underspending its budget for the 2023/2024 financial year. This is revealed in the latest audit report by Auditor General Junias Kandjeke, who said the funds could have been used for other urgent national needs. While the ministry received an unqualified audit opinion for the year, Kandjeke raised several concerns.  One was the failure to allocate or disclose revenue of more than N$2.44 billion in the revenue ledger. “This means that all the revenue received and deposited from the revenue collected, amounting to…

Justicia Shipena The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) recovered less than 1% of student loans during the financial year that ended in March 2024. According to the latest audit report by Auditor General Junias Kandjeke, NSFAF recovered only N$18.27 million during the year under review.  “The auditors noted that total recoveries were only N$18,271,916, which is less than 1% of total student debtors owing the Fund,” Kandjeke said. He found that the NSFAF has been ineffective in collecting student debt, noting that most debtors are years in arrears and there was no evidence that they had been contacted to…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services spent over N$54.8 million through irregular emergency and direct procurement, despite laws limiting these methods to exceptional situations.  This is according to the latest audit report by Auditor General (AG) Junias Kandjeke. The report shows the ministry used emergency procurement to buy goods and services worth N$19.2 million, even though these items were already listed in its procurement plan.  Under the Public Procurement Act of 2015, this method is allowed only during disasters or wars or when lives or the environment are in danger.  The AG’s office found that the ministry…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The ministry of agriculture, water and land reform says it has been unable to secure a meeting with the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) board for months.  The ministry said this is despite repeated efforts involving the ministry of finance and the office of the attorney general. This came just days before Meatco board chairperson Sakaria Nghikembua resigned.  He stepped down on Friday, citing alleged unlawful government directives. His resignation was confirmed by agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani in the National Assembly on Wednesday. “Up until yesterday, we were looking to confirm the time with the Board of Directors…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The City of Windhoek has confirmed that four forensic and audit investigations into alleged irregularities have been completed.  However, the reports remain under internal legal and administrative review and are not yet available to the public. This confirmation follows questions sent by the Windhoek Observer last month and a letter dated 19 May from social justice activist Shaun Evert Gariseb.  The letter, addressed to the minister of urban and rural development, James Sankwasa, asked for intervention in long-standing service delivery and governance issues affecting residents. “The investigation has been concluded, and the resulting reports were submitted to the…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja A restricted tender issued by the Tsumeb Municipality for the construction of 31 Build Together housing units in Nomtsoub Extension 8 is under scrutiny.  The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement has accused the local authority of violating the Public Procurement Act. The N$3.1 million tender was issued on 23 May 2025. AR’s Oshikoto regional activist, Johannes John, claims the tender process was hidden from the public and that a specific company was allegedly preselected to win the contract. “We are taking issue with the manner in which they selected the companies. The Procurement Act says they may only select…